Football
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Chelsea vow to ban fans involved in racist incident on Paris Metro

Chelsea have warned that they are prepared to ban any fans who prevented a black man from boarding a train in Paris and chanted: "We're racist, we're racist, and that's the way we like it."

Footage posted on the Guardian website, above, shows the man trying to board a Metro train at the Richelieu-Drouot station in the French capital, but he is blocked by what appears to be a group of Chelsea fans travelling to the Parc des Princes for the 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night.

The Paris prosecutor's office said it has opened an investigation. The identities of the people in the video, including the victim, are not yet known, prosecutor's office spokeswoman Agnes Thibault-Lecuivre told The Associated Press.

It is also not confirmed whether the passengers were Chelsea supporters heading to the Champions League match, but both British and French police said on Wednesday they are trying to identify those involved, in cooperation with the Metropolitan Police. 

In the video, the men are seen gesturing at the commuter and pushing him out of the car when he tries to step in.

On a second attempt, the man points to a space where he could stand, but he is pushed away again as he steps forward, and the group erupts into chanting.

Chelsea released a statement condemning the incident and said they will take action if police find that their fans were involved.

"Such behaviour is abhorrent and has no place in football or society," the club said in a statement.

"We will support any criminal action against those involved in such behaviour, and should evidence point to involvement of Chelsea season-ticket holders or members the club will take the strongest possible action against them including banning orders."

UEFA also condemned the incident but outlined it cannot intervene because it occurred away from the Parc des Princes.

BBC sports news correspondent Richard Conway quoted UEFA as saying: "It is a matter for the local authorities to investigate further and UEFA supports any action that is taken."

The Metropolitan Police, which monitors supporters during European matches, said in a statement: "We are aware of footage currently on the internet allegedly involving Chelsea fans in Paris.

"The Metropolitan Police takes these offences very seriously, no matter where they occur. We will examine the footage with a view to seeing if we can apply for football banning orders, preventing people from travelling to future matches.

"We will of course assist French authorities to identify those people involved and support them in any action they choose to take. At the same time we will be working closely with Chelsea Football Club."

The maximum penalty possible, according to French criminal code, is three years in prison and a 45,000 euro ($51,000) fine.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter also criticized the incident on Twitter. He sent his tweet on the heels of another tweet condemning Monday's comments from former Italy coach Arrigo Sacchi that Italy has too many black players in its youth national teams setup.

The video was filmed by Paul Nolan, a British man living in Paris who was on his way home from work. He said the incident occurred about 7:30 p.m. The match started at 8:45 p.m.

"The doors were open, and I could see and hear that a lot of chanting was going on," he told The Guardian. "It looked like it was quite aggressive, so I just took out my phone to record it.

"[The commuter] was obviously completely shocked when they pushed him off. I don't think he realised who they were. He then tried to get on again and got pushed off a second time.

"I was just completely appalled by it, and so that's why I tried to catch some of it on my phone, although I was a bit self-conscious as it was getting quite aggressive and I overheard one of the Chelsea fans say something about stabbing someone. I think he was referring to a Paris Saint-Germain supporter who was on the platform."

Chelsea fan Mitchell McCoy, who was one of around 40 or 50 Chelsea supporters on the train, said fans were singing about Blues captain John Terry and that other passengers were blocked from entry.

The 17-year-old from Fulham in London told Press Association Sport: "I'm not in the video, but I'm on the carriage. We got on the train, and at the station where the man was trying to get on, we stopped for a couple of minutes.

"He tried to get on, and a few people were pushing him off because there wasn't much space on the carriage. You couldn't move.

"People were saying it was because he was black. It's not true at all. I personally think it's because he was a PSG fan. Obviously they didn't want him anywhere with us."

Kick It Out, an organization that tackles racism and discrimination in football, spoke out about the matter. Kick It Out chairman Lord Ouseley told Press Association Sport: "We know that prejudice is on the increase, and that in itself leads to hateful attitudes and this sort of conduct.

"I was shocked that Chelsea fans were still behaving like this. I thought the club had made it quite clear and taken action about stopping any repetition, knowing Chelsea, how hard they've worked on these matters, with fans as well as players, that it was unlikely to occur.

"The fact it involved an assault as well, of the individual that they pushed off the train, was even more shocking.

"Clearly it sends out a strong signal to, not only Chelsea, but the whole of football, that you cannot be complacent and think the actions you're taking are sufficient to deal with the scourge of racism, sexism, homophobia and anti-Semitism. We've got to do a lot more and not be complacent."

The Football Supporters' Federation expressed its concern as well, saying, "This is a shocking incident and the overwhelming majority of Chelsea fans will be disgusted by it. There's no place in society for this type of behaviour, and we back Chelsea FC's strong stance.

"The FSF has zero tolerance for discrimination and we'll continue to work with groups such as Kick It Out -- with whom we run the Fans For Diversity campaign -- to make sure football is a welcoming environment for all."

The Football Association also condemned the incident, saying: "The FA fully supports Chelsea's position in seeking to ban any of the club's season-ticket holders or members who face criminal action in relation to these abhorrent scenes.

"The FA, like the club, completely condemn such disgraceful behaviour which is a criminal offence and those responsible should face the strongest possible punishment."

In the hours leading up to Tuesday's match, a large group of rowdy Chelsea fans congregated around two bars in the Chatelet area in central Paris.

About 40 riot police and a dozen police spotters were there to prevent a repeat of the violent clashes between Chelsea and PSG hooligans that took place in the same area before last year's Champions League quarterfinals.

On Tuesday, plainclothes police escorted three separate groups of Chelsea fans to the underground station at Etienne Marcel. After a change of trains, the route to the Parc des Princes goes through Richelieu-Drouot station.

Information from Press Association and The Associated Press was used in this report.

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